"Back in the '80s, Tortillas on Ponce had the best burritos in town, probably the only ones outside of Mexican restaurants. They had a green sauce that was spicy but not painful. It was probably a tomatillo sauce. I've never found a sauce to match that one. Any help?"

STEVE MOORMAN, Athens

DEAR FOOD GODDESS: E-mail the Food Goddess Related: • More on food and drink • Restaurant reviews and search More Food Goddess columns Here are readers' favorite potato salad recipes  Chicken salad, fruit salad recipes from Rich's  Here's how to tell when blue-veined cheeses go bad  Everyone has opinion on potato salad  Pavlova a wonderful light dessert for warm weather  Here are readers' favorite potato salad recipes  Chicken salad, fruit salad recipes from Rich's  Here's how to tell when blue-veined cheeses go bad  Everyone has opinion on potato salad  Pavlova a wonderful light dessert for warm weather

The goddess always views this type of letter with trepidation, not wanting to raise expectations only to disappoint a dear devoted reader. But this recipe shows that with divine intervention, miracles can happen. Your mystical maven often finds a way for some shuttered restaurant to extend its life beyond the grave. Although this missive has a happy ending, there are two similar requests featured in recipe swap below and whose fate is still unknown. Let's hope they'll be as lucky as Mr. Moorman.

Recipe swap

Mug Duckworth of Tucker longs for "the best lemon poppy seed cake ever" that Steve's Ice Cream next to Plaza Drug on Ponce served. She clipped the recipe once from Creative Loafing, but she lost her copy. Does anyone else still have it?

Libby Reale of Marietta was shocked to find Shipfeifer on Peachtree has shut its doors. She fears she can't go through her remaining years without the taste of its cottage fries (cooked extra crispy just for her) with the feta dressing! Does anyone have the secret recipe for that yummy dressing?

Tortillas' Green Sauce
16 servings

Hands on: 10 minutes
Total time: 10 minutes

This tomatillo-based sauce bursts with flavor and as much heat as you want. The original recipe calls for equal amounts of tomatillos and jalapeno slices, but here we start with 1/2 cup and leave the rest to you. If you are concerned, add extra jalapenos and juice to taste, a bit at a time. Make sure there is enough cilantro for a bright and fresh green appearance.

1 small onion, coarsely chopped
1 (11-ounce can) tomatillos, drained
1/2 cup canned jalapeno slices, or to taste
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves

In a food processor, pulse onion, tomatillos, jalapeno slices (with some juice) and cilantro until chopped to desired consistency.

Per serving: 16 calories (no calories from fat), 1 gram protein, 3 grams carbohydrates, 1 grams fiber, no fat, no cholesterol, 1 milligram sodium.